Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.
It is NAIDOC Week in Australia. During NAIDOC week, celebrations are held across Australia to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) peoples. There are around 500 First Nations groups, each with their own culture, language, beliefs and practices. I think we should celebrate NAIDOC week with a couple of songs, but before we do, I would like to acknowledge and pay my respects to the traditional custodians of the land where I live, the Ngunnawal people.
It was a difficult choice as there are so many wonderful performers from which to choose, but today I have decided to go with Emily Wurramara’s wonderful performance at TEDx, of three songs – Black Smoke, Hey Love and Ngerraberrakernama – from her first album. Since some of my fellow Aussies are in lockdown this weekend, I chose this longer video, rather than limiting my choice to just one song. Ms Wurramara takes inspiration from family and childhood home of Bickerton (Milyakburra in language) and Groote Eyelandt in the Top End. I think we all want to go there. I hope you enjoy.
Take care, everyone. For those Aussies stranded overseas, I hope you will soon be able to return home.
Kind Regards.
Tracy.
Photo credit: NASA astronaut image of Bickerton Island in Australia, Wiki Commons
Reflections of An Untidy Mind 
It’s great you’ve acknowledged NAIDOC week Tracy. I’m so glad to learn about Emily Wurramara and her very enjoyable songs and music. What a lovely performance!
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Hi there, Liz. Thanks for the comment. Emily Wurramara is a young woman with a bright future. It was my pleasure to bring her beautiful songs to my readers today.
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Beautiful music Tracy. I am wondering, did the children who were stranded ever return home to their parents?
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Thanks, Lisa. Still many children stranded overseas. The caps on overseas arrivals have reduced further. Our hotel quarantine system is not up to the task of keeping out the Delta variant and only 9 percent of people are fully vaccinated here. We have only one dedicated quarantine facility which is causing much angst due to lack of foresight and vaccines for under 60s are in short supply.
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Oh that is so sad. Reading some of the blogger’s posts help me understand how different it is around the world with regards to the virus. Such crazy times 😢
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Really dangerous times for Aussies, Lisa. We’re in a pickle.
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I did not realise there are 500 First Nation groups – that is an immense number!
I am listening to your video now – she has such a hauntingly beautiful voice.
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Thanks for educating me a bit more about Australia. Truly beautiful songs.
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Welcome, Punam.
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How beautifully Emily Wurramara represents her people. And how respectful of you to recognize the indigenous people of Australia. We in the “New World” no matter which country we’re talking about, are not the first people. Still, I also understand that it would always have been impossible to keep anyone contained, whether 500,000 thousand years ago or yesterday. People move, and realizing this is natural is important to consider. How to justifiably allow this movement is a huge international conundrum. (I don’t think we should export our Earthly problems to Mars.)
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I’m not doing anything unusual, Sharon. Just taking up the First Australians’ invitation to come together to heal country. I like to play all sorts of music on here.
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Thanks for sharing this video, a lovely song and beautiful voice. I had no idea there were so many indigenous groups in Australia. Happy to learn more about the culture.
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Yes, it is a rich diversity of peoples and stories.
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